He was demoted and exiled to Syria under the protection of Emir Tankiz in 1327 after an-Nasir Muhammad held him responsible for an incident which could have potentially caused a mutiny of Qutlubugha's mamluks against the sultan.
Thereafter, he and his closest ally, Emir Tashtamur Hummus Akhdar of Aleppo, launched a campaign to topple Qawsun and his puppet sultan, al-Ashraf Kujuk, and place an-Nasir Ahmad on the throne.
It was likely related to an-Nasir Ahmad's resentment toward Qutlubugha for playing the key role in installing him as sultan and thus taking him away from his isolated stronghold of al-Karak, which he preferred to the Mamluk capital in Cairo.
[3] Qutlubugha's plan was to provoke an-Nasir Muhammad to arrest him and Tashtamur and thereby cause an uproar and mutiny among their mamluks against the sultan.
[3] However, after the issue was settled, an-Nasir Muhammad discovered that Qutlubugha was responsible for the incident and had him demoted, a relatively light penalty.
[4] On 7 October 1341,[5] Qawsun dispatched Qutlubugha and a Mamluk army from Egypt to subdue al-Karak and force an-Nasir Ahmad's surrender.
Qutlubugha reentered Damascus in triumph to celebrations in the streets and a formal proclamation of an-Nasir Ahmad's accession in the Friday prayer sermons.
[9] An-Nasir Ahmad was a seclusive ruler who rarely communicated directly with the senior Mamluk emirs, relying instead on his retinue of supporters from al-Karak as intermediaries.
[10] He managed to avoid arrest as he traveled eastward along the Mediterranean coast through Sinai and Palestine, but he had to stop at Jenin to seek shelter with the na'ib of Aleppo, Emir Aydughmish, who was temporarily camping in the area.
[10] By the time of Qutlubugha's arrest, an-Nasir Ahmad was making preparation to return to al-Karak, from which he intended to reign instead of the Mamluk capital in Cairo.
[11] An-Nasir Ahmad left Emir Aqsunqur as-Salari in charge in Egypt on his behalf and directed to confiscate the assets of Qutlubugha and Tashtamur, who was also brought to al-Karak.